La Grange man charged with running meth lab was making wine, mom says

The mother of a man twice accused of running a methamphetamine lab claims her son actually was making wine.

Jan Kowalski said last week that her son, Daniel Kowalski, wasn't manufacturing drugs when police found suspicious equipment during a 2014 arrest.

Kowalski, 23, who was photographed by authorities wearing a shirt that references the television show "Breaking Bad," pleaded guilty Friday to two drug possession charges, one a felony.

A Cook County judge sentenced Kowalski to two years of probation and 30 hours of community service. His probation is eligible for expungement if he completes the terms, which include random drug tests and paying $1,387 in restitution.

In February 2014, Kowalski was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamine manufacturing materials and possession of materials needed to produce methamphetamine, according to the Cook County sheriff's office. Police had acted on a tip that meth was being produced at Kowalski's home in the 1000 block of 61st Street in unincorporated Cook County near La Grange

The drug production charges were dropped in that case, and Kowalski pleaded guilty to possessing 6.95 grams of a psychedelic drug commonly called DMT.

Kowalski was on electronic home monitoring from a July 2013 arrest in which police allegedly had found meth-making materials the first time during a building check by officers, who also observed marijuana in the home when Kowalski opened the door. For that case, he pleaded guilty to possessing 10 to 30 grams of marijuana.

Her son, who she described as being a "special education" student when he was younger, had used the equipment to make two batches of wine, she said.

Kowalski said she wasn't sure how police could mistake the carboys and pipettes used in winemaking for the beakers and other materials used in a meth lab.

Last year, police said officers found glass beakers, burners, chemicals and instructional materials for making controlled substances inside the home.

In the mug shot taken after the 2014 arrest, Kowalski is wearing a T-shirt bearing the words "Los Pollos Hermanos," which refers to the restaurant used as a front by a meth dealer in the TV series "Breaking Bad."

Kowalski, who has a prior conviction for misdemeanor resisting arrest, will get credit for 355 days of time served while in police custody.

A version of this article appeared in print on December 24, 2015, in the The Doings Western Springs section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Alleged meth lab was for making wine, mom says" —
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